Fourteen nights in a Hammock on North Manitou Island, 2011-05-20 through 2011-06-03

[Indiana Camper]

I was up there last summer for the first time. If I was you, I would look into getting a spot at the 'village campground' when you arrive on the island. It is maybe half a mile from where the boat docks. From there, you would be able to take short day hikes to what suits your family. I tried to nab a spot at the campground my last night on the island to make sure I was at the dock in time for departure and all the spots were already occupied. I think there may be 7-8 spots at that campground. There are some nice beach areas near the campground too. Also, the village campground is the only place on the island you can have a campfire. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer.

Edit: Oh, almost forgot.. watch out for poison ivy! There is a TON of it on the island. I came back with my legs covered.

Thanks for the reply. I am really torn on how much to try to move. Two weeks from today we'll be on a short trip on a trail I've been on several times in Hoosier National Forrest. I guess how we all do on that trip may influence how much we try to move on the island next month. Thanks for the heads up with the poison ivy.
How about black flies and mosquitoes in mid July? Anybody have an idea of how bad those will be?
Thanks again and hopefully I'm not derailing the thread. I've since read a more recent trip report from the OP and it was great as well.

[Big Flounder]

Great trip report 3club! Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed it. I had never heard of the island before and will have to add it to my list of places I want to explore someday.

[3club]

Hey everyone! Glad you enjoyed the report! I just got back from another two week island adventure of a different sort. :-)

Indiana Camper: If your little ones can manage a four mile hike, I'd avoid the village campground and head south, then west, then south again. That's south past the cemetery, west past fat annie's, and when you come out of the woods and see the beach and the post that says the trail goes to the right (north), do the opposite and head south to the very far end of the clearing, maybe a half mile. There's sort of a trail, but not really, but it's through a clearing (mostly). At the far southern end, to the left, there's a perfect stand of trees in the shade I call "hammock heaven". It's a legal site, 300' from the water, with a pretty easy walk down to the beach. There are primitive log stairs.

Bugs can be good or bad, no way to tell from year to year, but on the west side there, you get a nice breeze coming across Lake Michigan that keeps most of them away. The village campground has no suitable trees for a hammock, is usually crowded, and smells from the crapper. I stayed there once. Never again.

Kids usually enjoy playing in the sand, so I'd just camp out at that south west "Hammock Heaven" the whole time. If you feel up for an awesome day hike adventure, walk south down the beach and climb Old Baldy. The view is amazing. For an easier day hike, head north through the clearing and follow the trail for about a mile to Fredrickson's Place and look for delicious wild strawberries.

Happy Trails!!!

[Hooter16]

I'm headed to NMI next week with my two boys and two other families. For the men, its our first return trip -- for everyone else its their first trip to the island. Some are backpacking for the very first time!

We are planning on heading down to the cemetery area and base camp from there. However, this spot further south west from there sounds intriguing -- thanks for the tip, 3club. At the very least a destination for another return trip. One of my buddies is about to convert to hammock camping as he is feeling the pains of ground dwelling.

The last time we were there we base camped at the village campground and relied more on the facilities at the village. It was a nice place to base camp. It wasn't as crowded of an area as I expected it to be. You could still hear people at their sites talking loudly, snoring and what have you. We didn't have any fires as we had anticipated, but didn't really feel the desire to. The only reason I would camp at the village camp ground would be for camp fires and if someone absolutely had to be near the facilities. (Although I highly recommend not using the john in the campground. It is worth it to clinch it for the half mile or so to the nicer toilets in the town. The toilet in the campground smells like death doused with ammonia.)

Thanks again for the location for the Hammock Heaven!